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Cities' leaders explore how to un-muck bay

The nasty state of Old Tampa Bay has been a problem for decades. It will require a long-haul effort, an official says.

By TAMARA EL-KHOURY
Published December 16, 2005

OLDSMAR - Since Dave Perrego moved to Phoenix Avenue from Safety Harbor last year, he says the bay has been rising.

But not with water. It's been filling with mud and filth and stink.

Some days he looks out in his back yard and the bay is just mud. He can't take out his canoe or his pontoon boat unless the tide is exceptionally high. And even then, he has to get back quickly.

This week leaders from Oldsmar and Safety Harbor met to discuss, among other things, what to do about the condition of the bay.

They asked the city managers of both cities to organize a meeting with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Southwest Florida Water Management District.

Safety Harbor mayor Pam Corbino suggested writing joint letters to representatives in the state and federal legislatures.

"When cities unite, when communities get together, more gets done," said Safety Harbor commissioner Andy Steingold. He recalled trying to dock his jet ski and sinking another 8 or 9 inches in muck.

The condition of Old Tampa Bay has been a hot topic for many years, said Oldsmar mayor Jerry Beverland.

"I've been complaining about it since 1971," he said.

In 1968, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dug the Lake Tarpon Outfall Canal to prevent flooding after heavy rains.

Beverland said that caused pollutants from Lake Tarpon to empty into the bay.

The result, he said, was the demise of the white sand, the thick oyster beds and the dinner plate-sized blue crabs that he could see from his neighborhood pier.

Although he doesn't know whether there is a connection between the canal and the bay's condition, Michael Molligan, spokesman for the Southwest Florida Water Management District, said the agency will meet with the Oldsmar and Safety Harbor leadership, the Corps of Engineers and the Tampa Bay Estuary Program.

Together, they will try to determine the extent of the problem, the cause and potential solutions, Molligan said.

There are water quality problems in that part of the bay, said Nanette Holland, public outreach coordinator for the estuary program. Part of the problem, she said, is the presence of the causeway, which restricts the normal tidal flow.

She said the estuary program's director spoke to the Oldsmar City Council a few years ago about the state of the bay, and that representatives of the program would be happy to meet with the cities' leadership again.

Oldsmar's city manager, Bruce Haddock, warned city council members and commissioners that cleaning the bay could be an ongoing project.

"If you think you're going to get excited about it, that's wonderful," Haddock said. "But you need to be committed for the long haul."

[Last modified December 16, 2005, 00:54:19]